Make Kubrow Great Again!

[ChillyWilly]

Aside from bad title, most of us agree that kubrow/kavat are inferior to sentinels, probably because DNA Stabilizer, wondering around, or no Universal Vacuum (I see you ember users)

So I have quite a bit of suggestion before we move on to that universal vacuum for Kubrows. Such as

 

1. Let us command our pet. While there is techincally a way to command our pet (Hunter Command) its kinda a bummer that a feature that should be there is locked behind a Mod (Remember Mod Slots for Abilties?). I just play a flash game called "Castaway 2" the pet system is kinda basic but I think it would be great. I suggest we can hold X (action button) on our pet, and cycle between 3 Mode, kinda like how you open gear menu. Agressive, Which is basically what we have now. once you attack, it will attack any enemy in sight. Assist, Which makes your kubrow only attack what you attack. if you shoot blindly without any enemy. the kubrow wont do anything. Passive, Which makes your kubrow avoid all encounter and keep beside you, useful for Raksa in perticular

 

2. Fix Kubrow attack animation, While its not the most annoying part of kubrow, Some kubrow attack (in this case when they move backward and leap to attack) sometimes isn't working. They would basically attack over and over while dealing no damage, and then get killed in process. the reason why Sentinel is better is because their attack is more accurate

 

3. Optimize/Fix some Precept mods. Some precept mods doesn't work like what we would expect. Sunika Unleashed only goes after very specific type of enemy, Capture Targets. It would be great if they also target high priority enemies (Bombard, Nullies). Sahasa Dig only works when you are stationary, not taking or dealing damage and doesn't have any enemy in about 40m radius. Just let them dig while in combat. Charm become the most useless Precept mod in the entire pet system, as the % is basically too many (28% to get a buff every 27 second and have another 20% to get the buff you want. 1 specific buff will take about 10 Waves on Defense mission). and So on

 

4. Rework Chesa Kubrow and Put more polarities. a. Chesa Kubrow is regarded as the worst Kubrow (In my opinion) for 2 reason. 1. Its the only pet with 1 Rare Precept mods (The other one is common). 2. Both of those abilties are what I could say "Something does this alot better". Chesa Retrieve only work out of combat, which is why people choose sentinel. and Neutralize is kinda pointless since there is so much more abilities that could be useful. Halikar (Yes, the glaive no one use) can disarm enemies, Nyx Passive. Mag Augment. Etc. It would be better if Chesa is reworked completely. b. polarities on Kubrow is very bad, Usually its only 2 Penjaga polarity and either Vazarin or Madurai. while sentinel have 4 Penjaga Polarity and one Vazarin (For my carrier prime). If I would compare between those 2. Carrier Prime would need 3 Forma (with Primed Regen). and Kubrow will need 5-6, and thats even without any Primed mods. It would be better if they add 1 madurai and 1 vazarin on all Kubrow. but thats just for me

 

I'm sorry if this look like an essay to people reading this, but whats your suggestion to make Kubrow more playable?

[Ragingwasabi]

+100000000

Edited March 22, 2018 by Ragingwasabi

[--C--Notorious]

100% I agree, make them more useful to end game and be able to tear S#&$ apart - I want to be able to sit and have my kubrow jump from prey to prey and just be REEEEEEEE OPPPPPPPPPPPP

[FinkLord]

All this sounds amazing. Kubrows really need this. DE said they are working on making companions better. Hopefully they add all this stuff. I think they could use some more mods too. They only have 22 mods and 10 of them are only for specific breeds.

[WarmongerExtraordinare]

are you implying that at some point kubrows were even remotely good with that title?

[Guest]

Honestly, I'd rather DE grant complete immunity to these suckers... It's an absolute pain to see them needing a revive every 10 seconds because an osprey just dropped 3 orbs on the ground. It's not like they were even remotely useful anyway. In oldschool 2D RPGs, your pets are basically invulnerable, because the enemies will always focus on murdering you. In a hoard-based game like Warframe, I think the same should apply as well.

[(PSN)Aerik93]

1 hour ago, WilliamHartono12 said:

. I just play a flash game called "Castaway 2"

MY DUDE!

I loved those games, god damn!

[ChillyWilly]

4 hours ago, (PS4)Aerik93 said:

MY DUDE!

I loved those games, god damn!

XD. Its a great flash game, but their pet system are what warframe need tbh. The pet in that game really help you. not like a worthless animal running around

[ChillyWilly]

5 hours ago, PhantomThiefOfHearts said:

are you implying that at some point kubrows were even remotely good with that title?

XD, It wasn't. But it just a joke tho :>

[Serdinor_Darkrose]

Kinda want to give my opinion and I hope more people will because the more exposure these threads get the better, DE will notice an actual problem sooner if we have legitimate concerns and good suggestions. I'll mostly focus on Kubrows since my Kavats aren't used that often out of habit. Personally I find my pets to perform better than my sentinels atm but that's not to say there aren't issues. So:

1) Let's take a good look at Hunter Command mod (or what I call Useless Command). Imo it's the perfect example of a bad implementation, the mod by itself gives you small stats for a feature that in a lot of scenarios will turn against you. For example, let's say I'm using my beloved Rubico. It has Hunter Munitions on and synergizes with my Kubrow's mods. While on an Infested Defense I spot an ancient, I shoot and it dies one-shot...oh wait a Grineer Defense I spot a heavygunner, I shoot her quickly but she survives one shot due to scaling. Hunter Munitions procs, great right? However your Kubrow's mod immediately activates even though the enemy is technically dead, so it will either charge (or use an ability) at the target and by the time it gets there the target is dead and now your pet has aggro from every other Grineer around, so F. Let's forget Hunter Munitions meta, let's say you're procing slash with something that won't kill the enemy in 1-3 seconds (a good example would be Quite Shallow's video "The Good Dog"), but then again it's Hunter Synergy that does the job and not Hunter Command, your Kubrow will probably attack that target anyway at some point (or you can isolate that target yourself).

My suggestion, while simple, is to make Hunter Command a mod that gives you the same passive effect but will enable your Kubrow/Kavat to attack the target you have marked. Gives marking targets an extra purpose in the game and it's easy to use. Basically I would like to see a mechanic that while my pets run around wrecking havoc on their own volition, I can command them where they will use their ability or focus their damage if I want. We train them as field companions and right now they feel more like a tagalong partner. Why not go further? Right now the loyalty meter cuts their max damage, but it's meant to "affect their combat performance". So with this new system, less than 100% loyalty makes your pet less likely to listen to your commands, while at 0 loyalty it will only do its own thing and has a chance to turn against you during the mission.

2) Rebalacing the damage & utility potential of pets. I believe that Sentinels should be Status-focused, Kubrows critical/heavy damage and Kavats somewhere in between. Let me give some examples:

-Sentinels have the role of performing tasks for you, so they get to use their abundance of utility options while being fragile. They have access to shield-health regeneration, cc to foes around you, that vacuum that noone will shut up about and the ability to proc various status effects. Prisma Shade for example is focused on stealth, so if stealth goes wrong it will have the ability to proc radiation in a small area, confusing the enemies while you escape undetected.

-Kubrows will retain utility like the current ones and be expanded upon to include heavy tasks (a sentinel cannot pin down a target but a Kubrow can), they are the more combat-oriented companions and need to feel aggressive. For example the Sunika is meant to have been created for combat, so let's say you lose 50% of your Warframe's health or go down, the Sunika enters bloodlust mode increasing it's speed and damage and comes to your aid attacking everything around you.

-Kavats will be between utility and damage, they are more graceful and cunning creatures. Imagine a combination of the two other companions and add extra unique features (honestly I do find Kavats at a good spot right now even though the Charm rng is way too unreliable).

3) Attack animation for Kubrows and Kavats needs to change, period. It looks nice but it's very impractical, the time it takes for a Kubrow to step back-charge-attack an enemy has already shot at you or your pet 5 magazines (ok not really but you know what I'm talking about). This gets even worse among groups since your pet will perform that animation and even get stuck or bodyblocked by the other enemies surrounding it's priority target (if it happens to be a flying enemy at a significant height, then F). Their attacks should be fast, just like we enter a room and slide-slash an enemy our pets should be able to attack fast as well at all times.

4) Something very out of the blue, but I dig the concept. Riven mods were created to infinitely improve our weapons in a way (the current version needs stat-lock features but regardless). How about the same for Kubrows and Kavats, but not in a riven system but a mission system. Let's say your pet is now 30 level, you've used all the formas you needed, done. Why not take it further? Let's say we talk to Master Teasonai in Cetus (also a way to give him more purpose) and he speaks about how the people of old would train their companions to improve their performance. He allows you to start a solo mission with your pet and if you succeed in it your pets stats will grow up to a cap or their abilities will evolve into a better version. There will always be a cap but the sense of scaling will help, plus it will be more close to resemble a bonding experience with your pet. All things concerned my intital 3 topics above are easier to implement and this would take more development focus, but in any case I can always hope.

Edited March 22, 2018 by Serdinor_Darkrose
formatting

[ChillyWilly]

On 3/23/2018 at 3:03 AM, Serdinor_Darkrose said:

Kinda want to give my opinion and I hope more people will because the more exposure these threads get the better, DE will notice an actual problem sooner if we have legitimate concerns and good suggestions. I'll mostly focus on Kubrows since my Kavats aren't used that often out of habit. Personally I find my pets to perform better than my sentinels atm but that's not to say there aren't issues. So:

1) Let's take a good look at Hunter Command mod (or what I call Useless Command). Imo it's the perfect example of a bad implementation, the mod by itself gives you small stats for a feature that in a lot of scenarios will turn against you. For example, let's say I'm using my beloved Rubico. It has Hunter Munitions on and synergizes with my Kubrow's mods. While on an Infested Defense I spot an ancient, I shoot and it dies one-shot...oh wait a Grineer Defense I spot a heavygunner, I shoot her quickly but she survives one shot due to scaling. Hunter Munitions procs, great right? However your Kubrow's mod immediately activates even though the enemy is technically dead, so it will either charge (or use an ability) at the target and by the time it gets there the target is dead and now your pet has aggro from every other Grineer around, so F. Let's forget Hunter Munitions meta, let's say you're procing slash with something that won't kill the enemy in 1-3 seconds (a good example would be Quite Shallow's video "The Good Dog"), but then again it's Hunter Synergy that does the job and not Hunter Command, your Kubrow will probably attack that target anyway at some point (or you can isolate that target yourself).

My suggestion, while simple, is to make Hunter Command a mod that gives you the same passive effect but will enable your Kubrow/Kavat to attack the target you have marked. Gives marking targets an extra purpose in the game and it's easy to use. Basically I would like to see a mechanic that while my pets run around wrecking havoc on their own volition, I can command them where they will use their ability or focus their damage if I want. We train them as field companions and right now they feel more like a tagalong partner. Why not go further? Right now the loyalty meter cuts their max damage, but it's meant to "affect their combat performance". So with this new system, less than 100% loyalty makes your pet less likely to listen to your commands, while at 0 loyalty it will only do its own thing and has a chance to turn against you during the mission.

2) Rebalacing the damage & utility potential of pets. I believe that Sentinels should be Status-focused, Kubrows critical/heavy damage and Kavats somewhere in between. Let me give some examples:

-Sentinels have the role of performing tasks for you, so they get to use their abundance of utility options while being fragile. They have access to shield-health regeneration, cc to foes around you, that vacuum that noone will shut up about and the ability to proc various status effects. Prisma Shade for example is focused on stealth, so if stealth goes wrong it will have the ability to proc radiation in a small area, confusing the enemies while you escape undetected.

-Kubrows will retain utility like the current ones and be expanded upon to include heavy tasks (a sentinel cannot pin down a target but a Kubrow can), they are the more combat-oriented companions and need to feel aggressive. For example the Sunika is meant to have been created for combat, so let's say you lose 50% of your Warframe's health or go down, the Sunika enters bloodlust mode increasing it's speed and damage and comes to your aid attacking everything around you.

-Kavats will be between utility and damage, they are more graceful and cunning creatures. Imagine a combination of the two other companions and add extra unique features (honestly I do find Kavats at a good spot right now even though the Charm rng is way too unreliable).

3) Attack animation for Kubrows and Kavats needs to change, period. It looks nice but it's very impractical, the time it takes for a Kubrow to step back-charge-attack an enemy has already shot at you or your pet 5 magazines (ok not really but you know what I'm talking about). This gets even worse among groups since your pet will perform that animation and even get stuck or bodyblocked by the other enemies surrounding it's priority target (if it happens to be a flying enemy at a significant height, then F). Their attacks should be fast, just like we enter a room and slide-slash an enemy our pets should be able to attack fast as well at all times.

4) Something very out of the blue, but I dig the concept. Riven mods were created to infinitely improve our weapons in a way (the current version needs stat-lock features but regardless). How about the same for Kubrows and Kavats, but not in a riven system but a mission system. Let's say your pet is now 30 level, you've used all the formas you needed, done. Why not take it further? Let's say we talk to Master Teasonai in Cetus (also a way to give him more purpose) and he speaks about how the people of old would train their companions to improve their performance. He allows you to start a solo mission with your pet and if you succeed in it your pets stats will grow up to a cap or their abilities will evolve into a better version. There will always be a cap but the sense of scaling will help, plus it will be more close to resemble a bonding experience with your pet. All things concerned my intital 3 topics above are easier to implement and this would take more development focus, but in any case I can always hope.

While this is a good suggestion, I would say as follows

1. Hunter Command mod is better to be reworked completely, I would make it so enemy affected by slash proc will now open up to ground finisher which deals 200% of Kubrow Damage (Its not a finisher, which ignores armor and shield, just a ground finisher, which increase the damage) and put the ability to manually command.

 

2. The Sentinels, Kavat and Kubrow for me as follows

a. Sentinels are a weaker version of kubrow, deal less damage but are more focused to be all around good companion (Can heal, shield etc)

b. Kubrow are a companion that is stronger than Sentinels, better than sentinels on their precept and deal more damage. Sunika are more on attacking, Raksa on Protecting. Cause beside the lack of Vacuum, Kubrow have maintenance cost. (Even the DNA stabilizers cost are way down. there is still RNG behind acquiring a kubrow

c. Kavats are slightly less damaging than kubrow, more on critical chance but less base damage. Focused on Buff and Debuffing (Removing armor, detecting enemy, give critical chance to squad / buffs)

So for me, Kubrow are the best, Kavat comes 2nd, and Sentinels comes 3rd (If the maintenance cost is higher, it would be obvious to make it more powerful)

 

3. I agree on that one, I also put it up on the original post

 

4. I don't really looking forward for this, This is what I could call "It can be great or it can be bad" so I'm not looking forward to it tbh. But if they manage to do this, I would be happy

[Rambokovsky]

Yes Kubrows need a strong buff!

[Serdinor_Darkrose]

1 hour ago, WilliamHartono12 said:

While this is a good suggestion, I would say as follows

1. Hunter Command mod is better to be reworked completely, I would make it so enemy affected by slash proc will now open up to ground finisher which deals 200% of Kubrow Damage (Its not a finisher, which ignores armor and shield, just a ground finisher, which increase the damage) and put the ability to manually command.

 

2. The Sentinels, Kavat and Kubrow for me as follows

a. Sentinels are a weaker version of kubrow, deal less damage but are more focused to be all around good companion (Can heal, shield etc)

b. Kubrow are a companion that is stronger than Sentinels, better than sentinels on their precept and deal more damage. Sunika are more on attacking, Raksa on Protecting. Cause beside the lack of Vacuum, Kubrow have maintenance cost. (Even the DNA stabilizers cost are way down. there is still RNG behind acquiring a kubrow

c. Kavats are slightly less damaging than kubrow, more on critical chance but less base damage. Focused on Buff and Debuffing (Removing armor, detecting enemy, give critical chance to squad / buffs)

So for me, Kubrow are the best, Kavat comes 2nd, and Sentinels comes 3rd (If the maintenance cost is higher, it would be obvious to make it more powerful)

Yeah Hunter Command needs a complete rework, its current state is kinda sad. I personally believe that as long as the mod is tied to slash it limits build variety (and can eventually be abused, make the mod great and suddenly everybody plays Ash in perma-stealth with Smoke Screen and Huras, while spamming his 1st power to Slash-proc anything that the Kubrow can then destroy). Turning it into a ground finisher enabler is a really good idea though!

I like the categorizing here, it's coherent and easier to implement. I wouldn't make Kavats tied to higher crit chance though simply because of how hard it would be to balance around it, especially with Hunter Synergy currently in the game (which paired with a maxed Bite and a crit weapon in your arsenal could completely overshadowed Kubrows with high base damage).

Edited March 24, 2018 by Serdinor_Darkrose

[MeinArschBrennt]

В 22.03.2018 в 12:16, WilliamHartono12 сказал:

Agressive... Assist... Passive, Which makes your kubrow

AAaand this is what we need for whole pet system, not only Kubro. I just hate ressurect a berserker cat or dog, tha really don't want to live and will try to die again in a minute or so.

Also, hunter commands set is terrible and even bad ol' "skill mods" is better.